A 15-year-old boy swimming in the Gulf Coast at Surfside Beach recently, which is approximately 65 miles south of Houston, Texas, was suddenlyattacked by a shark in the waist-deep water.

The boy acted quickly to defend himself against the flesh-hungry animal, beating it with both hands after it bit him on the leg, Surfside Assistant Police Chief Gregg Bisso told CNN. The shark then turned to bite the boy on the left hand before other young members of his church group came to his aid.

The boy was quickly taken to the hospital, where it was confirmed that he had thankfully suffered only minor injuries from the attack. It is still unclear what kind of shark attacked the boy and Bisso stressed that shark attacks in the area are rare, citing only two attacks in the 5-mile stretch of beachfront in the past 25 years.